A video circulating online shows Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla supposedly giving former Public Works district engineer Henry Alcantara a “script” during a Senate hearing. The video carried a clip played in reverse on purpose.
Facebook and TikTok users have been sharing since Sept. 24 a two-minute, 41-second video, claiming that Remulla handed a script to Alcantara for him to read during his testimony in the Sept. 23 legislative inquiry of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
A post on FB bore a caption that read:
“Remulla, nag-abot ng script kay Alcantara? Kau (sic) na po ang humusga (Remulla handed a script to Alcantara? You be the judge) … tsk.. Tsk..”
The video had a narration at the start, saying:
“Pansinin niyo ‘yung folder sa harapan ni Alcantara, ‘yan ang kaniyang statement na binuksan niya kasi babasahin niya tapos ‘yun binigyan siya ng script ni Boying. Kaya pala siya pinaupo diyan ni Panfilo [Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson], kasi hindi naman siya diyan nakaupo nung umpisa diba. Pinalipat lang siya ni Panfilo. Nakita mo ‘yung naging facial expression nitong si Alcantara nung ibinigay ni Boying sa kanya ‘yung papel? Kasi siguro nagulat siya at tsaka at the same time nakakakaba. Naiipit siya eh. Sasabihin ba niya ‘yung totoo na nalalaman niya o babasahin niya ‘yung script na ibinigay ng demonyong si Boying sa kanya
(Notice the folder in front of Alcantara, that’s his statement that he was about to read then Boying gave him the script. That’s why Panfilo [Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson] made him sit there, because he wasn’t sitting there at the beginning, right? Panfilo had him move there. Did you see Alcantara’s facial expression when Boying gave him the paper? Because he must have been surprised and, at the same time, nervous. He was in a bind. Will he tell the truth that he knows or will he read the script that the demon Boying gave him)?”
The second half of the video showed Alcantara supposedly returning the paper to Remulla.
This video was edited. The first clip shown was played in reverse to make it appear that it was Remulla who gave the paper to Alcantara.
Media organization Rappler published the original clip, which shows Alcantar turning over his signed affidavit to the Justice secretary. This was for the DOJ’s evaluation of the dismissed official’s request to be placed under the Witness Protection Program.
The clip was played in reverse to make it appear that Alcantara was forced by Lacson and Remulla to read the supposed script given to him.
The second half of the video used the same clip but it was played normally to make it appear that Alcantara returned the document to Remulla after.
The Senate’s official livestream of the Sept. 23 hearing showed a portion of the actual scene where Remulla handed the affidavit to another DOJ staff.
The edited video circulated a day after the Senate hearing on the anomalous flood control projects. As of writing, Alcantara and other former DPWH officials Henry Alcantara and Jaypee Mendoza, together with contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, are now considered “protected witnesses” under the DOJ. They would still undergo strict evaluation to see if they would qualify as state witnesses.
VERA Files has debunked a deluge of disinformation related to the ongoing investigations on the flood control issue.
A post on FB carrying the edited video has so far garnered 11,000 reactions, 3,800 comments, 27,000 shares and 1,000,000 views. A copy posted by TikTok user @alona0130 also garnered 18,000 reactions, 2,703 comments, 11,800 shares and 499,400 views. Copies and screenshots of the edited video with the false claim have since been shared by other users.
